Castle district

Matthias Church (Church of Our Lady) with its pierced towers and tiled roof was for centuries the coronation church and site for many royal weddings. Rebuilding work in the early 19th century involved the age's most respected artists and professionals. There is a large ecclesiastical collection in the crypt (lapidarium, treasury, copy of the Holy Crown) and concerts are held here from spring to autumn.

Fishermen's Bastion, a 7-pinnacle neo-Romanesque rampart raised on the medieval walls, affords stunning views across the city. The ruins of the Dominican Church of St Michael and monastery are nearby. Regular open-air performances are staged in the Dominican Courtyard.

Two entrances to the Castle district: virtually every house on streets running between Bécsi Kapu Square and Dísz Square - Táncsics Mihály, Fortuna, Országház, Úri - as well as Tóth Árpád Walk are listed monuments built on medieval foundations; look out for the rare Gothic sedilia in the gateways.

Castle Cave, 1.8 km of the 12-km cave network under Castle Hill, can be toured with a guide.

The Military History Museum covers the history of Hungarian warfare, the Hungarian Museum of Commerce and Catering preserves memorabilia from bygone days, and the Medieval Jewish Prayer House shows how the Jewry of Buda lived.

The Music History Museum in the Baroque Erdődy-Hatvany Mansion preserves a large collection of rare instruments as well as many manuscripts from the bequest of Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945).